Madeira Canary Islands Azores – Fishes Dr. Peter Wirtz

also has such white skin flaps but lacks the small black dots. The ground colour of the body can vary from
light gray to dark red. The Madeira-scorpionfish reaches an age of up to five years. Photo Peter Wirtz
Red scorpionfish (Scorpaena scrofa)
Up to 65 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 2 – 300 m depth.
The largest scorpionfish species in the area. If you see a scorpionfish larger than 25 cm it must be this species.
However, in shallow water you are likely to see only young individuals (to about 30 cm length) of this
species; adult animals live in deeper water. The colour varies from light pink to dark red, occasionally yellow.
Photo Peter Wirtz
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Brown scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus)
Up to 32 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 2 – 800 m depth.
The Brown scorpionfish has longer tentacles over the eyes than the similar looking Small scorpionfish. It
reaches an age of eight years. Photo top right Peter Wirtz.
Small scorpionfish (Scorpaena notata)
Up to 20 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 2 – 700 m depth.
The small scorpionfish has shorter tentacles over the eyes that the similar looking Brown scorpionfish
or even lacks such tentacles. Almost always a dark spot on the first dorsal fin. Photo bottom right Peter Wirtz.